Chapter Six: Missing

Lee's odd behavior lasted for weeks with no sign of going back to the way he was. I had a terrible feeling wash over me every time he went to work. An even worse feeling when he returned home late at night. Each morning, I was choking back my tears when he kissed me and each night I would lie awake hours after he came to bed.

Date nights were a thing of the past and we stopped making love.

At first, I thought something was wrong. Because of my renewed friendship with Tommy, the kiss. I wondered if Lee had somehow found out about them, but he showed no sign of knowing what had happened.

Then I noticed something, Lee barely looked at me when we were alone. Now when we woke, he was always facing away from me. Not even a glance during breakfast and a quick peck on the lips or cheek when he kissed me.

I was beginning to feel extremely lonely.

Before I was slightly irritated, then guilty, then slight loneliness. But by the end of that first month, I was really missing my husband.

One day I asked him if maybe we could spend some time together.

"Not this week, love," he answered.

I nodded and said I understood. I didn't. That night, I cried in the shower so he could not hear me.

When the week passed and Lee still was gone, I began taking the dogs to bed with me to cuddle with. Lee said nothing. They never slept on his side of the bed anyway, so they were out of his way.

I stopped talking a lot about my life with Karah and Lucy. Luckily, so much was going on in their own lives they didn't notice. I did not want them to confirm my suspicions.

I did talk to Tommy often. When we took the possibility of romance from our friendship, we became best friends. We told each other everything. He told me about the women he's dated and I've told him the troubles I had with my husband. I encouraged him to keep dating when he had a date that went well. He neither confirmed nor denied my concerns with Lee. He only listened.

Tommy was a comfort.

Still, I was lonely. Despite talking to him every day, Tommy and I never met in person and I knew it would be a bad idea while I was supposed to be working on my marriage.

But note, I was sure the kiss or anything more would happen. I love my husband and I missed my old, boring life.

END OF CH. 6